Lucien abruptly stopped, a few drops of water still suspended in his throat.
Cough!
He wiped his lips and continued sipping down the remaining water. Her mother rushed to Lucien’s side and provided a woven towel to wipe his face with.
"Thanks, but I’m fine."
Lucien politely rejected the offer, and the woman folded the towel before returning it to a neat hanger.
"Don’t scare the guests at our house like that, Celeste. Didn’t I just explain what was going on?"
"He simply hasn’t gotten his rank re-evaluated after he’d grown much stronger–"
"Yeah, Mom, I know. I was just messing around," Celeste responded.
Lucien dropped the glass of water and slid it across the table. Celeste’s mother picked it up and carried it to the washing area, which was just a few steps away from the dining table.
’Celeste? As much as I’d hate to say it, it’s a nice name.’
Lucien’s eyes wandered around the room. First, the ceiling that replicated the same white and golden design as the one in his room, then the neatly organized dishes and kitchen items, and cupboards and drawers lined perfectly on the house’s smooth walls.
He was looking for a reason to leave their company and return to his room. If his reason wasn’t plausible, Celeste would get suspicious.
It was obvious that she wasn’t believing his story.
’Perhaps, I’ll cook up another lie just before I go to bed.’
’No, that won’t work. I’ll just give her more reasons not to believe me, and then, who knows what she’ll do next.’
"So uhh, I need to go to bed now. Even with that Automatic Spell that was fast independently while I was at the verge of death, I still need to replenish my mana and recover fully."
He stared at her mom, hoping to get affirmation from her since she was the most likely to permit him to leave.
In the corners of his eyes, Celeste’s intense stares pierced through his vision. He could feel her unshaken disagreement so much that it almost startled him.
"Um, goodnight now."
He quickly stood up from his chair and set it properly before heading upstairs. He walked hurriedly, staggering and missing a few steps in the process.
"I really do need some more rest," he muttered as he missed another step.
Thud!
"Is everything alright?" Celeste’s mom voiced her concern, her motherly tone evident.
"He’s probably fine. He’s probably even stronger than we think, Mom," Celeste’s voice followed, but not in the same tone as her mother’s.
’She’s definitely gonna be a pain if I stay here for too long.’
He eventually reached his room, opened it and closed it. He stumbled over a few objects across his room before eventually landing on the soft embrace of his warm bed.
"Feels better than home," he whispered, drifting asleep with his hand placed on his forehead as he faced directly at the ceiling.
Under the weight of his own eyes, everything turned pitch-black as his eyelids shut.
’Isn’t this the subconscious space where I have my conversations with Wrath?’
"Wrath. What do you want me here for?"
There was no response.
Then, he realized something. He wasn’t floating in the space like he usually did. There wasn’t any thick, crushing energy surrounding him.
That wasn’t the same space.
Immediately, as though the space knew his thoughts, it gradually tore open, revealing a starry night sky that closely resembled how the outside looked.
Suddenly, his vision was forced to face the ground beneath, and then, he saw the house. It was aesthetically similar to the one he was currently sleeping in.
’This is the house I’m in, right?’ he thought, his body slowly approaching the ground at an incomprehensible speed.
’Why am I falling this fast?’
Lucien wondered, but there was no one to answer his questions. He could only watch his body inevitably crash straight into the concrete path leading outward from the house’s front door.
Immediately after his body made contact with the ground, his vision ceased momentarily. Wrath’s Mana overflowed and encapsulated Lucien in the form of a raging fire.
Lucien was unable to do anything but be shocked.
Surprisingly, Celeste walked out of the door and saw Lucien engulfed in flames. She rushed to pick him up, but he stood up himself.
[Greetings, mortal. Take care of this body for me, or you’ll die.]
Wrath had taken over Lucien’s body and manipulated Celeste into offering him healing and food.
"Ok, sir, whatever you want. He led Wrath, who currently shared Lucien’s body, into the main passage.
"There’s no one upstairs, so make yourself at home. I’ll tell my mom that there’s a new guest."
Celeste looked back at him from her side and chuckled slightly before hopping off into the home.
The more he stayed outside, the more likely he would die.
Wrath was smart enough to understand the danger Lucien’s physical and mental health were in, so he gladly followed the girl’s directions.
The night’s dark sky slightly disappeared behind the door, and he followed Celeste to his room as she played a soothing tone in her mind, completely singing off-key.
Wrath couldn’t stand the sight of being bothered by a mere mortal.
But if Lucien died, then his entire plan would fail, and he would lose his vessel.
He couldn’t let that happen.
Not yet.
He played along with Celeste’s request, and she gladly escorted him into his room, showing him a few different items before going outside to call her mom.
"Mom, there’s a guest and his clothes are dirty!" She called out from the top floor, and a familiar voice answered.
"Honey, I’m coming. Give me a second."
A few steps could be heard in the distance. The sound of feet sinking into the sturdy yet flexible nature of wooden spiral stairs.
It was then that Wrath switched back to Lucien’s consciousness, who was still deeply asleep.
"Oh, he’s dozing off," Celeste’s mother replied, but his eyelids were already too closed to let him see her face.